The main factors affecting water quality in hydroponics are chemical, biological, and physical/environmental conditions. Maintaining optimal water quality is essential because the water serves as the sole carrier for nutrients and oxygen to the plant roots(‘Understanding Water Quality, Water EC, and pH’ 2016; Orsini et al. 2017; van Os et [...]
What is the ideal water quality for hydroponics. The answer is going to be very fluffy but one thing is certain, if you have pure distilled water or water that can be used for bottling it's going to cost you a lot of money. Pure clean water is not ideal. [...]
Cotton Aphid, or Aphis gossypii, is one of the more common insect pests found in almost all vegetable crops and gardens. They vary significantly in body size and color (from bright yellow, green and dirty brown olive), and adults may have transparent wings or wingless. Damage cause by Cotton Aphids [...]
Description Greenhouse white fly, also known as Trialeurodes vaporariorum is a sap feeder. The easiest way to find white flies is to brush or shake the leaves and look for the white fly adults which fly off. Inspect the undersides of the leaves for the flies. These pets are important [...]
Diseases of crops grown and closed hydroponic systems can be a problem and occasionally catastrophic. However, the presence of a pathogen does not necessarily mean that a disease outbreak will occur. Although not fully understood, there are fine balances in hydroponic systems involving climate conditions, biological control agents, etc. that [...]
Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) is the world's most valuable fruit and essential greenhouse crop. They deliver vital nutrients to our diets and serve as a pivotal model for plant biology research. Unfortunately, modern tomato varieties often lack the flavour that original or traditional cultivars boast. During the domestication and enhancement process, [...]
Factors determining plant temperature in a greenhouse. Radiation or heat energy can be reflected, transmitted, absorbed, conducted, re-radiated or used to evaporate water. Evaporation requires more than 500 calories per gram of water evaporated. It is evident that if radiant energy is absorbed, plant temperature must increase until an equilibrium [...]
There are various ways viruses can spread throughout the greenhouse. Transmission or method of spreading depends on the virus genes. A virus cannot move from one plant to another by themselves. They must be transmitted by a vector or another organism, most of the time they are insects. Each virus [...]
The intricate relationship between the fruit's acidity and sugar content affects how it tastes. A modest role is also played by other substances such as tannins, water-soluble minerals, and volatile chemical molecules. Two of the key elements that affect how fruit tastes are its acidity and sugar level. Fruits with [...]
